


The Inhabitants Of Jabberwock Island

by onelonerdown



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Another Episode, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Gen, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Psychological Trauma
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-26
Updated: 2018-02-23
Packaged: 2019-02-22 05:02:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13159833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/onelonerdown/pseuds/onelonerdown
Summary: The Warriors of Hope are being sent to Jabberwock island as punishment for their actions but the island's inhabitants were not told in advance so what are they going to do with the new arrivals?





	1. The Inhabitants Of Jabberwock Island

**Author's Note:**

> Post Future Arc (So Ryota is on the island too)
> 
> This fic idea kept me up all night and I had to write it down. This will probably end up being a few chapters which explore how class 77 run their island andhow the WoH get along with them. 
> 
> I think that Kotoko would be friends with Saionji and Mahiru but would despise Teruteru (for obvious resons) and the other WoH would try and get him to not be sex obsessed around her. I think that Nagisa would get along well with the Imposter and Hajime. Jataro would help Souda with his mechanics (I don't know why but I'd lke to explore the idea). Masaru would get on well will Akane and Nidai and maybe Fuyuhiko. 
> 
> I would also just like to write about how the WoH get alond with each other and protect each other (I'm planning something about how Nagisa would probably inform Hajime of all of the things that trigger his friends and get him to ensure that it didn't hapen).
> 
> I would also write about the friendship/ reletionship between Ryouta and the Imposter. Kuzuryu and Peko's reletionship. Most of the friendships/ reletionships in the game really.
> 
> Or I might never update this, I dont know. 
> 
> Either way: enjoy!

Jabberwock Island looked empty and lifeless from the boat. However, that was what the Warriors of Hope were desperately craving. They needed a new start and a break from all of the death and carnage that they had seen (and caused).

Naturally, Monaca was absence. She had gone from being at the center of all of their lives but now even speaking about her was frowned upon. 

As his remaining friends played and had fun on the boat deck, Nagisa was having a rare and private moment of nostalgia. He watched the morning sun bounce and swim among the waves and bathe the distant island with a hazy glow. 

He was remembering the time had had spent with his friends before her, before despair corrupted their lives. 

That time had been the worst and yet best time of his life. Sure, he had still been trying so hard to be the perfect son. He had been stressed and isolated but then, suddenly, he had friends. He’d never had friends before. They were friends whom he had grown close to and a love interest (actually, he’d rather forget about that last part).

“Naaagisaaa, play with us. Come on, play with us.” Kotoko wined, stopping his train of thought.

Nagisa chuckled quietly as he looked back to his friends. They wanted him to play along because their childish game of tag didn’t work very well with three players. It was annoying to be pestered about something so trivial but still… The underlying intent of friendliness made it less troublesome.

Luckily the young woman who was supposed to be looking after them, interrupted. She was an adult but she had been kind to them. The Warriors of Hope had even started to refer to her as Komaru instead of the female-demon. Now, Kotoko enjoyed teasing Komaru and Komaru actually put up with it. They trusted her even though no-one would actually admit that out loud.

Komaru had rescued them from the rubble of Towa city even after they had treated her so badly. Komaru even respected them for what they had experienced even though they had put her through hell. She was a naïve fool but at least she was a kind one unlike the naïve adults that they had encountered in the past. They were demons blinded by their own goals and wished to the point that they failed to notice the schemas of the people around them. Those kind of adults where easy targets. 

Komaru’s girlfriend, Fukawa, had taken them under supervision of the Future Foundation. She hadn’t warmed up to the Warriors of Hope at all and she still help the status of demon but she was trusted a little due to the fact that Komaru had constantly reassured the group that (although she didn’t look or act like it) she could be trusted just as much and that she wouldn’t attack them when she went psycho mode. 

That’s why the Warriors of Hope were being sent to Jabberwock Island to stay away from the rest of the world. The couple had managed to save them from execution (all of the blame had made its way to Monaca’s manipulation) but the future foundation still didn’t want them to roam the world as they pleased in case they tried to commit mass genocide again. 

They’d served their use and had helped the future foundation find Monaca and now they had to face their punishment. 

Komaru instructed the Warriors of Hope to gather their few belongings and get ready to depart from the boat. The boat docked at the port and they cautiously stepped off of the boat with Komaru in tow. The air of the island felt stale and devoid of hope. That did not bode well for their lives there.

“Well, the Future Foundation said that the uhh… inhabitants… of this island are going to take care of you and I need to be getting back. This new job is rather hectic” she laughed awkwardly obviously felling guilty about just leaving them.

“Awww. Don’t feel guilty Komaru-chan. It was never really your job to look after us in the first place so you don’t need to feel bad about abandoning us” Kotoko reassured her in a cutsie voice.

It was clear to Masaru and Nagisa that Kotoko was actually trying to make her feel worse but Jataro didn’t pick up on the hidden meaning.

“Yeah… It was real nice of you to look after such a vile and disgusting person,” Jataro drawled. 

Even after his mask had been torn off to reveal an angelic face, Jataro still refused to believe that he wasn’t ugly. The rest had stopped trying to correct him; Nagisa had figured that h would grow out of it eventually (with the help of people not degrading him). Sadly, the same couldn’t be said about the other’s traumas. 

Komaru was obviously hurt by their reactions (even if the last comment had actually been sincere) and mumbled her goodbyes before hurrying back to the safety of the boat. She stood next to Fukawa and looked forlornly back at the crowd on the dock. She wanted to leave rather quickly because her brother had described the inhabitants to be a little… full on. She didn’t want to meet them.

As soon as the boat started to pull away from the island, the Warriors of Hope lost their safety blanket. Having Komaru around had made them feel comforted and given them a small taste of motherly love that none of them had ever had. All of them but Nagisa waved as the boat slowly sailed into the distance. He was too busy surveying his surroundings but he also just wanted to move on. Forget about everything that had happened at Towa city, everything that he’d done. Komaru was a reminder of that.

Regardless, they had larger troubles to tackle. One by one the Warriors of hope put their hands down. Masaru had waved so vigorously that his hand had quickly grown tired, Kotoko put her hand down next and then (once he had realized that he was the only person left waving) Jataro dropped his hand to his side. 

Then they were left in silence. No-one spoke. No-one wanted to speak but even if they had, they didn’t know what to say. The silence was more oppressing than the thick, musty air which was made up of mostly dust and damp. 

On the other side of the central island, Hajime noticed a boat pulling into the harbour. As the leader of the island, it was his responsibility to keep everyone safe and well and make sure that no-one suffered anymore tragedy. A random boat arriving at the island but then quickly leaving was very suspicious. Although it didn’t look particularly threatening, if anything happened it would be on his head so he had to check it out. 

He wasn’t the only person who noticed though and by the time he had arrived at the harbour, everyone else was already there. But he didn’t recognizes some of the faces (an odd situation to find himself in when he knew everyone on the island). As well as the people that he had found himself calling friends, there was a small group of preteens standing around.

He was glad that he’s arrived when he had because there seemed to be quite a scene happening. There was shouting (from his friends and from the children) and there was a tense mood. He had to regain control.

“What’s happening?” his monotonous voice cut through the crowd and everyone fell silent. His new personality and appearance commanded obedience and he was the natural leader (no-one had argued when he’d taken control of the survivors of the program and lead the mission to wake their classmates). Even the strangers sensed his authority over the rabble. 

“These small children were just dropped off by the future foundation,” fake Byakuya was the first to speak. He only knew a little but Hajime was surprised that they’d even found out that much with all of the yelling and commotion. 

The crowd parted slightly as Hajime walked through to get a better look at the new inhabitants. 

There was a grubby girl all in pink with a pink horn headband on her head who was scowling at the Ultimate Imposter (probably annoyed at being called small). Next to her there was a boy who was even dirtier than her. He was dressed in red and wore white headphones around his neck (that were so battered that they probably didn’t work). He had scabby knees and a plaster on his cheek and an anger about him that completed his ruffian look. 

The blue haired boy behind him didn’t look quite as angry but still seemed to be annoyed and was even more injured. He was bruised all over and had cuts on his face and arms that looked as if they had been treated but not very well. However, he carried an air of detachment and maturity that his fellow comrades seemed to lack. The blue cowlicks that he had made him look less professional, though.

Lastly there was a small boy cowering slightly. He wore a disgusting, brown overall and had matted brown hair. Although he was just as dirty as the rest of them, his face was angelic and young. 

Collectively, they didn’t seem to be much of a threat to the island. In fact it looked like they needed first-aid, food and a good bath (things that could be arranged). 

But even though Hajime didn’t need to get rid of them he still wasn’t sure how to deal with the situation and the expecting eyes of his peers where pressuring him to do something. I suppose introductions should come first…

“My name is Hajime Hinata. I’m in charge of this Island. Who are you?” he tried to sound a little friendlier but due to Izuru his voice naturally sounded more apathetic. 

“My name is Nagisa Shingetsu. I act as the vice leader and Sage of the Warriors of Hope and my title was Li'l Ultimate Social Studies,” the serious one spoke first. 

“I’m the leader of the Warriors of Hope and my job’s the Hero! I’m also super good at sport so I was called the Li’l Ultimate P’E! My name’s Masaru Daimon,” the red head bragged confidently.

“Me next! My name's Kotoko Utsugi, and I play the role of Fighter. I’m super adorbs and I did lots of acting so I was called the Li'l Ultimate Drama,” the girl spoke enthusiastically, her anger from earlier had completely disappeared.

“Oh, umm… I’m Jataro Kemuri and I’m the priest for the warriors of hope but I’m not very good at it,” he drawled out the last part of the sentence before realizing he had more to say “And I’m good at art. I can remove nails and varnish and things… So I’m Li’l Ultimate Art.”

They sure did seem to be quite an odd bunch of people but that still didn’t answer as to why they were here.

“Welcome to Jabberwock Island. Why are you here?” that… that was a little more blunt than he’d imagined.

No-one answered. Instead the crowd watched as the “Warrior of Hope” exchanged glances and non-verbal communication. It was if they were deciding who would speak and what to say entirely via pointed glances. 

Utsugi seemed to be the allocated person to explain. She shifted her weight from foot to foot uncomfortably before explaining “We tried to make children’s paradise away from all of those filthy demons, perverted adults and evil monsters. It was a place where all children could live safely and be happy.

But… to do that we had to kill all of the demons. We were the heroes who were saving the world from demons. And to do that we had to kill them. Demons are filthy, smelly, ugly chunks of meat, more worthless than dirt… And disgusting, filthy Demons… deserve a disgusting, filthy death. 

But it turns out that that horrible Monaca didn’t want to make paradise and she… used us and betrayed us! So we helped the future foundation find her so they let us live. But they… sent us to live with you,” She sounded angry and also guilty as she explained but as they listened attentively, the ex-remnants of despair sensed that she was skipping parts of the story. 

More silence followed; a guilty silence from the Warriors of Hope as they waited for the reaction from the Island’s inhabitants who were in a shocked silence. The children looked harmless, a little aggressive and rough but not murderers. That story made them seem like brutal killers and it didn’t seem to be a lie either. Each child looked down guiltily as they waited to be judged which showed that the story was true – They had tried to murder all of the Demons? Demons?

“Who are the demons?” Hajime pressed. He needed a full idea of their crimes.

“The adults,” Nagisa answered curtly which caused some of the adults to lean back involuntarily. However that’s understandable when faced with a group of children who looked innocent victims but where instead perpetrators of the attempted mass genocide of adults. 

Hinata had some serious thinking to do. The kids where murderers but he couldn’t act al high and mighty because he’d killed as well. All of them had killed. One could argue that it wasn’t their fault due to them being brainwashed but Hajime could still remember killing person after person. That person wasn’t separate from him because he could still remember the time when despair was a craving and he had no qualms about killing anyone who crossed his path. 

He couldn’t deny the children the right to live at the island if they were guilty of the same crimes that they all where. They’d fit right in. But he still didn’t trust them. 

Regardless, it wasn’t entirely his choice about what to do with them. He might be the leader but it was still a democracy. So he called a meeting inside and everyone filled away from the harbour and walked to the hotel restaurant and the children followed uncertainly behind.


	2. The Democratic Rabble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Conversation, mood and body language.... Not my forte.
> 
> Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this little slice of life at Jabberwock Island.

“We have enough food and supplies to cater to four new occupants so that’s not an issue. However, before I decide whether they stay, I’m going to ask for your opinions,” Hajime started off the meeting in the room that they had met every morning in the simulator and had met every morning since to recuperate and make sure everyone was still safe (habits stick).

“As far as I’m concerned, they should be allowed to stay,” Mahiru started off by giving her opinion on the matter and then explained why “Sure, they’ve committed crimes but so have we. It would be pretty hypocritical of us to just send them away.”

Saionji pouted at this argument but didn’t respond as she didn’t really want to argue with her Big Sis. There were plenty of people to argue for her. 

“Are you mad?! They specifically tried to kill adults. We’re adults!” Kazuichi screamed and then recoiled in fear at his own statement as he realized how true it was. He quickly glanced at the children in question who were standing in the corner of the room watching their fates be decided and not saying anything because they weren’t sure if they were allowed to and ,right now, they didn’t want to rock the boat.

“They are just children so if the situation arose that they tried to kill us, there are strong people among us who could restrain them. As Mahiru said, we’ve killed as well so it’s unjust to judge them based off of their past actions,” Sonia reasoned firmly.

“Right as usual, Miss Sonia…” Souda replied, his firm fear melted immediately by Sonia’s words and instead replaced by a sickening tone of utter adoration. They way that he abandoned his opinions and idea if they contradicted Sonia’s was always irritating and sometimes a little unnerving (no-one should be that willing to please).

“But they weren’t under any other influences like us so can their actions really be held in equilibrium with ours?” Sagishi (who was still using Togami’s personality and appearance) reasoned. 

“Ibuki thinks that these adorable children are like us, it sounds like that Monaca was a real meanie!” she spoke in a sing-songy voice that did not match the tense mood of the room but that is how she usually is; cheerful and dramatic regardless of the tone of the situation. 

Regardless, her point captured everyone’s attention as no-one else had even considered the idea that Monaca had done more than betray the Warrior of Hope. But the argument wasn’t valid without confirmation.

The break in conversation prompted Hajime to get involved. What Ibuki had suggested (not outright said) was surely interesting. Could Monaca have somehow influenced their actions (as Junko had done to them but on a lesser scale)? He should ask.

“You said that Monaca betrayed you but did she ever force you to do the things you did?” Hajime investigated the idea and questioned the small group of children in the corner as he still tried to sound friendly. He was failing.

His question made the kids tense up as if simply mentioning their past friend brought back bad memories. Perhaps it did…

“She never… forced us,” Shingetsu answered hesitantly (although he claimed to be the vice leader of their team he seemed to lead an awful lot) and then took a deep breath. What he was about to say seemed to bring back traumatic memories and he focused on a spot on the floor, unable to make eye contact with the intimidating adults in front of him. 

He clenched his fist slightly as he continued, “But she did… manipulate us. She used our… weaknesses against us. She knew what made each of us tick and what made us… break down. And she used that! Our love to our friend blinded us, we didn’t see that she was evil! She was a demon in a child’s body. And… She made us do things to help her without a thought as to why. So yes, she did make us do things but we still chose to.”

The more he talked, the angrier he grew. But angry at whom? Was he angry at her or angry at himself for trusting her for so long and being the perfect pawn for her plan? Her plan, not their plan. The answer would be both. Nevertheless, he was angry.

And the group got their answer. 

Again, there was a shift in mood. There was still fear but less of it was directed at what the children could do to them but was focused on what they had done and what had been done to them. It sounded as if they’d done terrible things in the past (to the point that even thinking about it made them tense) and it was scary how much the adults in the room could relate to that.

Everyone had woken up in the middle of the night, at some point, their horrific nightmare slipping out of conscious memory. Covered in sweat and on the verge of tears, with images of all of the horror and death that they’d caused and felt so guilty. Even though logic reasoned that it wasn’t their fault, it didn’t stop the night terrors. 

So they could relate to what the young boy said and looked down at him with a new look in their eyes; a look of pity. They knew what it felt like to know that they’d been used and manipulated but still thinking that they must have had an aspect of choice. Thinking that it must have still been their fault somehow…

A sad silence had rested in the room as everyone dwelled in self-pity and remembered all of the nightmares and memories. Everything they’d done still felt like another life but was so real and so terrifying… No-one spoke.

And then eventually someone did. 

“Well self-pity gets us fucking nowhere. Let’s put it to a vote” Fuyuhiko broke the stagnating inactivity and moved the situation along.

“Yes, good idea. Everyone who’s okay with them staying raise your hand,” Hajime was jolted into action and quickly regained his composure.

The majority of the room raised their hand with background noise of noncommittal grunts and the odd “Yeah” or “Okay”. Masaru even raised his hand before Kotoko slapped his arm to get him to stop being an idiot. They really didn’t have a say in the matter but of course they wanted to stay, they didn’t need to vote. 

Besides, where else would they go? The rest of the world hated them after the events at Towa city became common knowledge due to the Future Foundations infiltration. No-one else would take them and everyone in their hometown hated them and had tried to kill them on multiple occasions. In fact, they were attacked daily so staying wasn’t an option. 

However, the majority opinion wasn’t unanimous. Some people didn’t raise their hand.

“And who’s against the idea?” Hajime asked and everyone put their hand down before a few where raised.

The first to raise their hand was Hiyoko. Then Peko raised her hand as well, much to the shock of Fuyuhiko and everyone else. Saionji voting differently wasn’t that surprising but no-one had expected Peko to be against the idea. 

“Why don’t you want them here, Hiyoko?” Mahiru asked her best friend with a caring tone that she didn’t use with anyone else and it sounded as if she was genuinely curious and not angry or irritated that she had disagreed unlike most of the people in the room who had assumed that she had only disagreed for the sake of disagreeing. 

“I don’t want any to live with a bunch of annoying brats! They’d just be a waste of our limited food supply and we’re not a babysitting business. Who would even look after them?” she argued but her argument sounded more like a child’s whining. 

The other reason that she didn’t want them around was that Mahiru had a soft spot for children. Admittedly, she wouldn’t take much interest in the boys but the girl was quite cute. She didn’t want to share Big Sis Mahiru’s attention. She didn’t say this out loud, however, because she knew that she’d only get a lecture from Mahiru about selfishness. And she hated lectures… 

“That’s a valid argument but I should remind you that food isn’t an issue. Ever since we got the original boat service between Islands that the island had during it’s time as a resort up and running, we were able to use the supermarket. The fresh food was inedible but the canned and dry food was perfectly fine. We also have the food packages that the Future Foundation send so food isn’t an issue as I already said. Also, I don’t think that they would need looking after. I doubt that they’re that young,” Hajime hated talking in depth and had done even before he became a mix of Izuru Kamukura as well. But it stopped Saionji’s whining.

“And what’s your opinion, Pekoyama?” he asked and hoped that he didn’t have to talk as much to counter argue her complaints. Although he could just not bother as it was majority wins regardless. 

“I’m just concerned about how our group would function if it got larger… We already have a problem with making decisions and allocating jobs and responsibilities as it is. Could that be worsened by their presence, they are children after all?” at least her concern was thought through and logical.  
Luckily for Hinata, Fuyuhiko jumped in to respond to her so he didn’t have to talk. Talking was becoming quite the draining thing these days and as leader he often had to do a lot of it. But that didn’t mean that he wanted to not be the leader, he was honored that his friends had let him (even encouraged him) to lead.

“We’re all adults here. We both helped to lead the Kuzuryu clan so dealing with a couple of kids shouldn’t be a problem. Besides, Hinata seems to be getting pretty good at doing all of this democracy shit,” Kuzuryu reassured her confidently and Peko nodded meekly as he finished talking, won over by his reasoning. 

So no-one had a problem. 

Eleven people had voted to allow them to live there. Two people had voted against them and he hadn’t voted due to him having the final say. Wait, that didn’t add up. There where sixteen people on the island (excluding their new arrivals) but that only added up to fourteen. He could explain why there was one person not voting; Nagito had been banned from voting during decision making because he’d caused problem after problem. The vote for his vote to be discounted was unanimous. Besides, he wasn't at the meeting anyway. He hadn't left his cottage much after exiting the simulator and no-one had been particular opposed to the idea of just leaving him alone.

That still didn’t add up. Who hadn’t voted? This was such a bother, why couldn’t it have just been unanimous. It reminded him of class trails when he’d had to disprove argument after argument and still have more problems to deal with. 

He wasn’t the only one who had noticed that someone hadn’t voted. Twogami had noticed and he had an idea about who hadn’t voted – He was sure that it was Ryota again. Nearly every time that they had a vote Ryota “forgot” to vote. But Sagishi knew his friend too well (having used his identity for over a year and being very close to him) and understood why he didn’t vote. He didn’t feel worthy. 

Sagishi had actually confronted him about it but he’d already realized why. It was for the same reason that he barely spoke a word when everyone met in the morning and talked about jobs and routines or issues that had been discovered and why he never uttered a noise when opinions where being shared. He didn’t feel like it was his place. Even though he’d been on the island for a month or so, he still felt like an outsider who didn’t have a say in what happened.

Sagishi had tried to reassure him but he knew that it would probably just take him time to feel worthy of knowing his classmates and having the same rights and authority as them. There was that crippling anxiety and inferiority complex again. Sagishi had thought that perhaps Ryota would have found a way to deal with it during the time they’d been separated but instead it had grown and mutated and gotten so much worse.

The Ultimate Imposter and Hinata made eye contact and mutually exchanged a look of mild annoyance and concern as they realized that they both knew who hadn’t voted… again.

The Imposter lightly nudged his friend, who he was standing very close to. Standing close over his shoulder was a subconscious move to protect the weak young man who had gotten thinner and weaker since he’d last been able to take care of him. The nudge was only weak; he didn’t want to startle his skittish friend. 

Ryota looked up at Sagishi and read the look of mild annoyance and mothering concern. They didn’t exchange words, the conversation consisted entirely of looks. Ryota looked guilty and Sagishi responded by looking even more mildly annoyed (so he was purposefully not voting not just “forgetting”). Ryota then changed his facial expressions so that they showed annoyance (he really didn’t need mothering as much as Sagishi insisted on doing and he didn’t need to get told off as much either). Sagishi replied by looking blankly and staring pointedly to convey the fact that he was fed up with Ryota’s behavior. He needed to stop thinking he’s less than the rest of them! 

It felt like he was back to caring for Ryota in between lessons like he had at Hope’s Peak. Those memories where actually quite happy in comparison to what happened afterwards; everything went sour. Fond memories… 

Hinata watched from a distance as the two friends had an argument using only very exaggerated facial expression. He chuckled lightly to himself (luckily the background noise of everyone else’s chatter drowned it out) as he watched the pair abandon their charade of anger and smile lightly to each other. The larger man placed a heavy hand on the other’s shoulder as an act of comfort. Hajime wished that there was a person out there that understood him that well….

At lease he’s stopped feeling drained and apathetic for a while but he knew that it was only a matter of time before he slipped back into the mind-set that was devoid of emotion. But apparently it was this indifference that made him an unbiased leader so maybe it was a good thing. 

Ryota’s vote didn’t really matter this time because they “yes” side had won by a landslide but Hinata made a mental note to ensure that he voted next time. However, he had a feeling that The Imposter would do it for him or that Ryota would “remember” to vote next time.

Everyone else in the room where already engaged in conversation. Some people were chatting to the children and some people where quietly talking to each other but Hajime needed to keep the meeting going because they had one more thing to discuss. 

“There is one problem,” the muttering and chitchat went silent as he spoke, “Where are they going to sleep?”

Hajime felt that, by the end of the day, he would be very drained indeed...


	3. Unnervingly Normal Carnage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Democracy and the power of a small smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so, so, incredibly sorry that this chapter took so long for me to upload. I had Christmas celebrations and the winter holidays and this week I have half a dozen of tests so I won't be able to update this or "Kiyotaka the Monotone Robot" for a while longer - Sorry, I'll start updating more regularly, I promise!
> 
> Notes: I believe that Izuru and Hajime mixed their personalities a little so that Hajime has control of his conscious decisions but still fee high amounts of apathy (at times) and tiredness. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this chapter! 
> 
> (P.S, I hope that the WoH aren't out of character in this chapter because I haven't played DR:AE in a while so my memory of their personalities are a little foggy)

When Ryota had moved to the island he had taken the unused cottage that Chiaki had inhabited during the program. It hurt to see someone else living and sleeping where she used to but they all had to deal with it. They couldn't deny him a room simply because it was painful. 

But now they had four new people to house.

"Can't they just sleep in the old building?" Akane suggested a solution that no-one else would say out loud, not because they hadn't thought of it but because it had a very obvious flaw. 

"In this world, the old building was never repaired so it would be unwise to let children sleep there," Sonia explained to Akane in a patient tone that those who were annoyed by her foolishness would not have been able to pull off.

"Let them sleep in the restaurant, for all I care," Saionji sulked and crossed her arms, to show everyone how tedious she found the conversation. She didn't want to waste her precious time on brats who she didn't like anyway. Mahiru scowled at her like a mother scolding their child. 

"Perhaps they should stay in the cottages?" Sonia put forward another idea with an obvious flaw, something that was quite out of character for the intelligent young woman. She was usually very practical and intelligent. Surely she realized the issue with the idea?

"B-But there's no room," Mikan argued meekly as she recoiled out of fear of being yelled at for being stupid. She was perfectly correct, however.

"Yes, I know. But surely if some of us shared a room then there would be enough cottages spare," so Sonia had thought the idea out after all. It was a good plan.  
"So how many rooms would we need?" Hajime steered the conversation onto a less repetitive (and unproductive) route. The quicker the situation was sorted out, the better. 

"I bet that they could all fit into one," everything that Teruteru said sounded as if it contained some sort of hidden sexual meaning. His attempted seductive tone didn't help either. Considering he was talking about children, it was quite frankly repulsive. His comment earned him a glare from Saionji who, gladly, was too far away to "bop him on the head until he died" (she used that threat a lot).

"Don't be ridiculous. They're going to grow up, you know. Besides, you can't expect a girl to sleep in a room full of boys," Mahiru shut him down.

"Yeah, I wouldn't want to sleep near stinky Masura anyway," from across the room, Kotoko agreed and nodded her head with a comedic amount of vigor. 

None of the warriors of hope pointed out that she had, in fact, been sleeping in the same room as all of them since the destruction of big bang Monokuma but only because they weren't sure if a sewer counted as a room. Masura still shot daggers at her, for calling him stinky (even though he hadn't showered since… too long ago). 

"It would be pointless for all three boys to share as they'd soon grow too big to all share a bedroom. However, there would be enough space for two of the children to sleep in the same room. So… we'd end up needing three rooms," Mahiru seemed to be very good at being the diplomat and making reasonable decisions. No-one disagreed with her deduction (but there was another scowl from Hiyoko because she didn't like the idea of everyone going out of their way to cope with the new arrivals). 

"Okey-dokey! So who's going to be bunk buddies," Ibuki enthusiastically punched the air which made the room seem a little more energetic and the conversation less repetitively monotone. 

There was a moment of thought and a few people had quick discussions among themselves before the room fell silent again. 

"Fuyuhiko and I would gladly share a room," Peko spoke calmly as she reported the decision that the pair had made. 

A few people gave conformational nods to show that they didn't have a problem with it and Hajime carefully watched Teruteru, to ensure that he didn't make any implications that could be harmful to the children's ears. There were far too many jokes that he could make about the fact that Peko and Fuyuhiko "gladly" wanted to share a room. 

"Anyone else?" Hinata prompted another burst of talk before the other two pairs where decided. 

"My Four Dark Devas have no objection to the Queen of Darkness staying in our lair," Gundam rustled his scarf slowly to show the group his hamsters who were passively resting in the folds of the material. Naturally, they had no objections. Everyone could guess who the "Queen of Darkness" was. His nicknames for Sonia where certainly very interesting but she certainly didn't mind and instead smiled happily up at her lover. 

Luckily, Kazuichi had long since given up on his rivalry with Tanaka (unfortunately, he still sucked up to Sonia as much as possible) so only growled quietly at the ides of them sleeping in the same room. In the same bed… There were far too many implications one could get from that idea.

"Be careful," Mioda sung happily "We don't want any more children on the island!" She then laughed at her own joke. 

Someone had to say it out loud, didn't they? 

Gundam blushed furiously and hid his face in his scarf whilst Sonia shouted that they wouldn't be doing anything like that. The children looked confused (except the blue haired one who then muttered that he would "tell them later"). So they hadn't had that talk. At least one of them seemed to understand so none of the adults would have to bear the responsibility of explaining where babies came from. 

They only needed one pair more and then Hajime could get back to work on getting the island clean and functional again. The whole group hadn't actually been awake for long (only about two months) and so hadn't been able to do much work on the island. So far they'd been able to get the plumbing system up and running again (courtesy of a mechanic with a surprisingly large amount of plumbing skill), cleared up a little debris and had salvaged the food from the mall to re-stock the kitchen. He still had work to do!

"I wouldn't mind sharing a room with Ryota," fake Byakuya interrupted Hinata's thoughts and smiled down fondly as he mentioned his friend. Ryota nodded back at him as he smiled a little as well. 

At least there was only the worry of pregnancy from two of the room shares.

The rest of the morning's meeting went much faster. Nekomaru agreed to help people move their belongings and Hajime quickly gave out jobs for people to do. Chores and responsibilities had been decided a while back but he knew that some people would need a little reminder. He should also go and check up on Nagito.

Nagito hadn't been seen recently and, although no-one was particularly worried, if a death happened, Hajime might be held responsible. The role of leadership was becoming tiring but it was his role; the mediator, the sarcastic voice of reason, common sense, drained leader. 

Maybe he'd get better at it eventually, responsibility. The responsibility for his classmate's wellbeing, their future, and their hope. But, for the meantime, he was doing fine – No-one was complaining. 

“Have a good morning, everyone. Remember to do the jobs that you’re responsible for today,” he dismissed everyone and the room slowly emptied, leaving him alone. 

Peko and Fuyuhiko where to first to rush out of the room because they were still shocked and embarrassed by Ibuki’s statement. If they hadn’t been thinking about doing it they wouldn’t have blushed so much so there was probably an element of truth in what Ibuki had said. 

Mahiru lead Kotoko out of the room, with Hiyoko in tow – She was not happy and was scowling. However, she wasn’t openly complaining (she’d never been one to hold her tongue so the behavior was unusual). She was mostly angry at herself for not getting Mahiru to share a room, which would have been a good opportunity to get closer, and now she just had to watch as her Big Sis’s attention was stolen. She’s going to have to shake the brat off somehow but for now, she’ll just bear with it. 

Akane and Nekomaru went off to train on the beach, as they did every morning. However, this time, the redhead followed him.   
Apparently, he was an Ultimate for P.E so he was probably hoping to train with the two other athletes. Hajime silently prayed that they were gentle with him (he’s seen how much he could ruff up Akane and she was, probably, of a much higher skill level) but if he did get hurt, Mikan could patch him up so it wasn’t much of a problem. 

Once everyone left the room, Hajime gave out a loud and heavy sigh. He’d been holding it in all through the meeting. His friend’s antics and personalities were so draining and the arrival of four new children hadn’t helped the matter at all. 

Conveniently, the moment that his sigh ended was the moment that he felt that unnerving feeling of being watched, that someone was staring at him from behind. 

He immediately spun round to see if the sensation was accurate. It was. 

But I was only one of the children – The blue-haired one. 

“I’d like to help,” he stated bluntly. Did he ask because he’d heard his tired sigh and wanted to relieve him of some of the responsibility or perhaps it was unrelated? 

“Help me with what?” he didn’t know what answer he would be most happy with. Would he be glad to share the responsibility or would he rather he be asking to help with something completely different?

“You seem to be the leader around here so please let me help you. I’m quite good at leading but I wouldn’t mind helping in other ways,” could Hajime even trust Nagisa to help him and would his friends be happy with him letting the boy help? 

“Why do you want to help?” if Hajime understood his motives it would help him to make a decision about whether to let the child help or not. 

“I’m-I’m not quite sure. But I don’t want to be a burden. I may be a child but I want to help you because then I’m useful. I have power and influence even if it's only a very small amount,” he explained uncertainly as if he hadn’t considered his motives at all “Plus, you seem like you could benefit a break.”

So he had noticed. But besides from the sigh, he’d been careful to not let the others see how tired he was. The truth was that he’d barely been sleeping. But neither had anyone else and he didn’t want to burden them with his problems and seem like an incapable leader. If his friends hadn’t noticed after all of this time, how did he notice after only an hour or so?

And why did he have a feeling deep in his stomach that he shouldn’t ask? 

 

But he had to keep focused on the decision he was expected to make, the other’s eyes were staring at him intently as he waited for an answer. 

In the role of a true diplomat, he decided to give the boy a chance and see how things went and when he told him that, he smiled a little before quickly regaining his neutral expression. But at least he’d made a person happy even if it was only a little. 

When he’d truly been Hajime Hinata, he’d enjoyed being the diplomat and making people happy, even if it was only a little. But it hadn’t worked had it? He wasn’t an ultimate, he wasn’t talented and he wasn’t very good at keeping the peace. He can still clearly remember the feeling of his stomach dropping as he waited in a crowd outside of a tapped off classroom and knowing – just knowing – what had happened. Murder.

But it was always that wasn’t it? 

He’d once heard the phrase “anything can become normal if it becomes commonplace” and at the time he’d thought that it was absurd but (as is the way with these things) it had turned out to be true. Murder and death and brutality had become unnervingly normal, a testament to how much his life had changed since he became partly Izuru…

So it was nice to cause happiness instead of wreck carnage. Even if he’d only made the boy a little happy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just so that you know; Nagisa isn't very in touch with his motivations and feelings so only understands a feeling of not wanting to be helpless/ powerless.


	4. Mini Chapter - Manga and Morons (fluffy stuff)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, yes, I know that it's short. I'm a little stuck how to advance the plot in the short time and, since it's been forever since I updated, I thought that you might want to see what I've written in the meanwhile. 
> 
> Please, please say what you'd like me to write. What relationships and stuff because it's going to be a bit oneshoty to develop said relationships before I start plot things. 
> 
> Good day to you and I hope that you enjoy it!
> 
> And sorry for the delay and short chapter. 
> 
> :/

Sagishi knocked gently on Ryota’s cottage door because he didn’t want to startle him, loud noises and fast movement often did that to him, even more frequently since they’d been reunited. Although he’d been trying really hard not to let on about it, Ryota was struggling and, because all of the time Sagishi spent trying to help him in the past, no matter how hard he tried to hide it, he could tell that something was off.

In the past, this would have greatly concerned him but now, not so much, simply because it was expected. You don’t go through tragedy without some side effects but the fact that Sagishi didn’t really know how much he’d suffered worried him.

When they’d been at Hope’s Peak Academy, he could make sure that he ate and slept (although that had always been hard) and didn’t get hurt but, thanks to Enoshima, he knew that he’d been hurt much more after he became a remnant of despair. 

But he didn’t know everything that had happened and he didn’t really know to accommodate to it and he didn’t know how to help anymore. It was a new feeling, not knowing everything that was happening with him.

He’d gotten better at lying as well. He used to be able to tell whenever he was lying about anything: whether he’d slept or eaten or taken a break but not anymore. Maybe he’d gotten better at hiding things from him or Sagishi had just lost his ability to connect with people. 

But he knew to knock gently.

And he knew that Ryota appreciated him being around. And he worried about getting it wrong or not being to care for him less when they were together. 

So it’s definitely a good thing for them to be sharing a room. He could get to know the changes in Ryota and worry less and they could both help each other to heal.

Because, even though he spent lots of time worrying about how Ryota was struggling, he was struggling too. The feelings of not quite being real (lacking identity or personality and all of the things that he’d done during his time spent in despair made him feel inhuman), not being truly there plagued him. 

He sometimes wonders whether he’d used his ability to wreck other people’s lives, cause chaos and spread despair, out of jealousy. They had an identity and they didn’t appreciate. He’d felt it about Ryota, a little. Perhaps jealousy lays inside of him. Perhaps the brainwashing caused him to feel it.

But he doesn’t really think that. Truly he doesn’t.

After all, he’d seen they pressure that having an identity had on Ryota and (once he’d remembered who he was again and stopped feeling the despair) the memories of him being ill or passing out because of the pressure that having to keep up with his animation to make his identity have worth put on him, was enough to stop the feeling of jealousy. 

So, simply being around Ryota made him feel reassured that he was real. He might not have an identity yet but he was real.

Sagishi was looking forward to sharing a room with him so he continued to knock on the door until it was opened.

“I thought that you might appreciate some help packing your things,” he greeted Mitarai with a smile to which the other smiled back and opened the door to let him in.

“Thanks,” he responded gratefully and walked further into the room.

The only thing notable in the room was a pile of clothes stacked on the desk, which had a small pile of manga and books sitting on top. Although he’d been unable to continue animating, he hadn’t ceased his love for games and manga. However, the store didn’t have many of those so he’d settled on largely books as entertainment. Some books had been a bit damaged and weathered with time but were still readable. 

It was then that Sagishi realized that he probably wasn’t really needed to help him, as he owned less than their other classmates so he felt a little awkward just standing there.

Ryota picked up the manga on top of the pile and thrust it into his friend’s face with all of the enthusiasm of a child on a white Christmas, it was refreshing to see him wear such a vibrant smile.

“Have you read this?” he pulled the book down and looked him in the eyes, smiling.

Surprisingly he had, as part of his cover as Mitarai, he’d read enough manga to withstand any questioning from his classmates (not that they did ever ask him). 

“Yes I have,” he smiled kindly.

“It’s great, isn’t it?! I love it,” his eyes widened with self-assurance and he sucked in a heavy breath before proceeding to rant energetically about things that the Imposter couldn’t quite understand. Apparently it was a classic that had greatly influenced its genre but he didn’t really know why or how. 

Not that that really mattered to him, it was just nice to spend time with his friend. Especially when he was acting passionately rather than being in his usual self-loathing slump, not that he didn’t want to spend time with him when he was like that. 

So he sat on the bed and listened, moving his friend’s belongings into his room forgotten, and relished in the company. Besides, it wouldn’t take too long to make his things. They had time to hang out.


End file.
